Abstract: Powders of 55Mg35Ni10Si amorphous alloy were prepared by mechanical alloying method. Using the mechanically alloyed powders as row material, bulk amorphous 55Mg35Ni10Si alloy was prepared by vacuum thermal consolidation. The mechanical properties of bulk material were characterized by micro-hardness. It is found that exothermic peaks appear at the DSC curves of both the powder and bulk material. In combination with the HRTEM examination, it is demonstrated that the bulk material mainly consists of amorphous phase together with some nano-crystals. In addition, the crystallization peak temperature of bulk material shifts toward low temperature compared with that of the corresponding powders. The micro-hardness of bulk material varies between 7 834 MPa and 8 048 MPa and decreases with increasing applied load, being in agreement with that of the normal crystalline materials. The fracture surface shows a mountain-like morphology without obvious plastic deformation features and the cracks propagate along the diagonal lines of the indentation.

Key words: amorphous alloys; mechanical alloying; mechanical properties